The FDA Is Shutting Down Shop For Illegal Online Pharmacies

The Food and Drug Administration (The FDA) is shutting down shop for illegal online pharmacies. Since Thursday, the FDA has stopped over 1,600 online pharmacies that were selling prescription medicines that were not approved and will cause danger to the American people.

The FDA created their new project, Operation Pangea VI. Many of these online sites appeared to be part of organized crime, claiming to be “Canadian Pharmacies.” These websites were claiming to be FDA approved brand name products. Part of this operation includes the FDA completing a campaign attacking more than 9,600 of these illegal online pharmacies. Their enforcing actions will include issuing warnings and the seizing of both websites and $41,104,386 worth of illegal medicines worldwide.

“Illegal online pharmacies put American consumers’ health at risk by selling potentially dangerous products. This is an ongoing battle in the United States and abroad, and the FDA will continue its criminal law enforcement and regulatory efforts,” said John Roth, director of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. Some of these illegal drugs even had the potential for serious or life threatening side effects that would have not been listed on a label.

During the week of shutting down shop for these online Pharmacies, the Food and Drug Administration ordered products and screened the selected international mail. The agency found that many hormone replacement, antidepressants and sleep aides were being shipped directly to the United States. Some companies even went as far as using United States companies such as Walgeens and CVS to give the buyer a sense of authenticity of the unknown product they were about to purchase.

The FDA will continue to work with federal and state agencies to shut the door on sales to the illegal online pharmacies. Just because something states that it is “FDA Approved” online does not mean it is. The safest way to prove that something has been regulated, is to simply go to the Food and Drug Administration’s website and look up the product.